


Stay With Me

by Rose-elh (Relh99)



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Retelling of the game, Sheik is a Separate Character, Slow Burn, more tags to be added later, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2020-03-11
Packaged: 2020-10-19 20:35:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20663393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Relh99/pseuds/Rose-elh
Summary: After waking up with no memories, Link goes on a journey to remember who he once was and make up for his past failures. Accompanied by a wolf who seems way smarter than your average animal, and a sheikah guard who's job is to make sure he doesn't make the same mistakes twice, Link must undo the horrors of the past and complete the task he was supposed to do 100 years ago.The issue is, it's hard to make up for your past when you don't even remember the names of the people you once fought for.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I've wanted to write a retelling of Breath of the Wild for almost 2 years now. Inspiration finally struck at 4:30 am, so I wrote this. I'm not sure what my update schedule will look like, but the good news is I've had 2 years to plan, so at least I know where I'm going! Hope y'all enjoy. Feedback is much appreciated- I haven't done a long chaptered fic in 6 years.

A glowing yellow light interrupted the peacefulness of the pitch black nothingness. Something had changed obviously, but he wasn't sure what. Or why. Just that something was new.  
  
_Open your eyes..._

Why bother? It was bright enough with the light there. He could see just fine.

_Open your eyes..._

Not that there was anything to see, save for the light. He watched the yellow fade softy to blue. It looks so familiar.

"Open your eyes."

The voice was much clearer, more demanding, yet still had this gentleness about it. He opened his eyes slowly. More blue light above him. What was the point again?

"Wake up, Link."

He hadn't realized he had forgotten his own name until he heard the voice say it. His name was Link. He wiggled his fingers a bit, trying to get a feel for where exactly he was. A liquid passed through them, a little thicker than water. He was laying in that strange liquid. The light looked familiar but everything else felt wrong.  
  
The water began to drain around him. Link waited, unsure of what to do next. The voice wasn't giving him any instructions beyond "wake up." He was able to move his body and his eyes were open. Maybe the voice wanted him completely up? He sat up in the now empty pool and looked around. Everything looked familiar, but Link had no idea where he was. He crawled out of the bed-like structure, his bare feet hitting the cool floor. There was a chill in the air, causing him to shiver. Besides his underwear, Link was completely naked and dripping wet from his time in the pool.

There was a oddly shaped stand just a few feet in front of him, next to the door. He needed to get out and find either someplace warmer to dry off, or at least some clothes to throw on. Rubbing his hands up and down his arms for warmth, Link walked over to the glowing stand. It had the same blue lights on it as the rest of the room.

When he was just a few steps away, the stand moved. Link jumped back in shocked watching as the center part raised up. From the now raised platform, a slot opened up and out popped a large rectangular object. On it was a mark that resembled a crying eye, the center having the same blue light as everything else.

_Take it._

For some reason, Link trusted the voice in his head. The idea that someone could see him and was willing to talk to him, to help guide him along, it was comforting. Something told him that hearing voices in one's head wasn't normal, but he didn't care to question it now. He reached out and grabbed the object off of the stand. It had a handle on it, but he wasn't exactly sure what he was supposed to do next.

Thankfully, the room seemed to know more than he did. The blank side of the object lit up with the crying eye symbol. The raised center on the stand rotated, locking into a new position. The door opened up, revealing another room.

Link walked through the door, curious as to where it led. In the new room, Link spotted a chest off to the side. There didn't appear to be a lock on it, so he reached down to open it. He sighed in relief at the sight of clothes. He grabbed the shirt that was sitting on top and quickly threw it and the pants on. The sleeves didn't quite reach his wrists, and the pants were tight, but at least he wasn't naked anymore. There weren't any shoes, but he didn't mind.

A new panel lit up over by a door on the far side of the room. Link followed the light, taking notice that the new stand had orange lights instead of blue, save for the center of the eye, which was also on the stand. He glanced at the object in his hand before moving to set it on the new platform. The voice wasn't giving him instructions anymore, so he assumed that what he was doing was correct. The door lit up blue before slowly opening, allowing real light to filter in.

Link winced at the brightness, but slowly walked forward to see where the new path was leading him.

_Link._

The voice was back.

_You are the light- our light- that must shine upon Hyrule once again._

His eyes adjusted to the new light. Link took one look at the stairs and hesitated. He had no idea what the voice meant, or what exactly Hyrule was. He had no idea where those stairs would lead him to, but he felt a strong urge basically begging him to take the first step up.

So he did.

Link all but ran up those stairs, only stopping when they did, right before a solid rock wall. It wasn't too high, just a few feet taller than he was. He found a good ledge to grab on to and climbed up, relying heavily on muscle memory he didn't know existed. He managed to pull himself over the ledge where more stairs were waiting. The sound of bugs chirping and the gentle gust of wind that came from the opening at the top of the stairs grabbed his attention. Link stumbled over his own feet, scrambling up the last flight of stairs.

When his feet hit the grass, he took off running. The sun on his skin was so warm, so welcoming. The grass under his feet was much more forgiving than the cold stone he woke up to. Everything was so alive and colorful, unlike the cave he just exited. When he reached the cliff's ledge, he stopped to take in the world around him. There was so much to look at! A small forest right below him, mountains off in the distance, stone structures that seemed much more inviting than the cave behind him- there was so much there! He wanted to see it all!

He let his eyes wander for a minute, but eventually paused. Off to his right was a a small pond, a huge stone building, and a man just down the hill, watching him closely.


	2. Sacred New Beginnings

Link made eye contact with the man down the hill. The old man seemed to smile before turning around to head back over to the small fire he had going. Curious, Link began making his way down the hill towards the man. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a tree branch about the length of his arm. He picked it up and held it at his side. While the old man appeared harmless enough, Link felt much better going in armed, even if his weapon of choice was just a simple stick.

The path going down the hill was half grass, half broken cobblestone. Link winced as the heel of his foot caught on a sharp rock, but he kept going forward. The old man seated by the fire was watching him. Maybe he had some answers to the questions that kept running through Link's head?

Where was he? What exactly is Hyrule? Who was the voice in his head earlier? So many questions bouncing around, Link could hardly keep them straight. As he got closer, the old man turned his attention to the stick Link held at his side and chuckled. Link eyed him carefully, unsure of what the man was thinking.

"Well met, stranger," the old man greeted. "It's rare to see another soul in these parts. I understand the caution, but you can put the stick down. Take a seat, join me! The fire is nice and warm."

Link nodded slowly before setting the stick down and taking a seat across from the man. A sweet smell drifted through the air by the fire. Link closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, almost drooling at the smell. The old man laughed, causing Link to flinch in surprise. The old man held out a piece of fruit.

"Apples roasted over a fire are a pleasant treat," the old man said. "Take it. I can always make more."

Link nodded in thanks and took the fruit. The skin was still warm and much softer than he expected. He took a bite and moaned quietly in delight. The warm apple was much sweeter than he anticipated. Link hadn't realized how hungry he was until he went to take another bite and noticed that he had already finished off the fruit.

"When was the last time you ate, kid?"

Link opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. He paused. Why couldn't he speak? He tried again, but nothing. His throat didn't hurt, so he quickly ruled out forgotten injury. Unless he did have a past injury that didn't heal right, leaving him mute? The old man watched him struggle to speak with no avail. Without talking, the old man picked up the stick Link had set down and began carving into the dirt. After a moment, he moved the stick so Link could see what he made.

_'Can you read?'_

Link nodded his head. He was glad he didn't forgot how to read at least. Hopefully he also knew how to write. Link reached for the stick and the old man passed it over. Link wrote out his own question in the dirt, starting with the simplest one.

_'Who are you?'_

The old man looked at the question and shook his head. "I'll spare you my life story. It's not a happy one, unfortunately. I'm just an old, foolish man who has lived here far longer than I intended. I think the better question is what brings a young man like you to a place like this?"

Link wrote in the dirt again. _'Where are we?'_

"Hm, answering a question with another question. I guess that's fair since I dodged your first one. This is the Great Plateau. Legend has it that this plot of land was the birthplace of the entire kingdom of Hyrule." The old man turned his head, gazing off into the distance. "The temple behind us, I recommend checking it out. It used to hold glorious ceremonies. Unfortunately, ever since the kingdom's decline 100 years ago, the temple has since been abandoned. I myself still visit from time to time. Recently it seemed to gain another visitor. You might spot him if you go over there."

Link stood up and gestured to the temple, inviting the old man to join him. He didn't know what else to do, and despite its decayed state, the temple seemed like the best place to start searching for answers. Maybe he'd come across the other visitor and find answers that way!

The old man shook his head. "No, I shall remain here. I already did my praying for today and my legs are tired. I'll be here for awhile though if you need anything. Come find me before nightfall, I can offer you a place to sleep tonight if you desire."

Link nodded and went to write 'thank you' in the dirt. Before he could finish though, the old man grabbed the stick, stopping him from completing the phrase.

"There's a way to speak with your hands, you know," The old man smiled warmly. He took his open palm, touched the tips of his fingers to his chin, and then pulled his hand away from his face, keeping his hand straight. "That's 'thank you.'"

Link repeated the gesture back, his eyes wide in awe. If he wasn't able to speak for whatever reason, he wanted to learn this hands speak as quickly as possible so he could still talk to people!

"I can show you more later," the old man offered. "You won't need it if you run into the other temple visitor, so don't worry there. Just be careful on your way over. The other visitor clears out the monsters when he can, but sometimes he misses one. My axe is at the bottom of the hill. Feel free to borrow it. Should offer you better protection than a measly tree branch!"

Link did the 'thank you' motion again before wandering further down the hill towards the temple. He spotted the axe embedded in a tree stump next to a pile of unlit fire wood. He tugged on the handle, freeing the axe from the stump. It was heavy, requiring both hands in order to hold it properly. Gripping it tightly, Link continued on the path, careful to avoid more sharp rocks. He tried his best to walk on the grass, but every now and then a section of broken cobblestone would pop up. Link grew tired of dodging the tiny stones and decided to veer off the path in order to keep his bare feet in the soft grass.

Only a minute after leaving the path, a blue blob jumped out of the bushes. It's yellow eyes hung off its body in a grotesque way. Link stared at it for a moment, unsure if that thing was one of the monsters the old man warned him about. The blob looked over at Link and jumped right towards him. Link gasped and swung the axe, easily cutting through the thing as if it were jelly. The thing exploded, leaving a sticky blue substance on the edge of the axe. He killed it. He really hoped that that thing was one of the monsters.

_"Link."_

The voice was back. He had meant to ask the old man about it before he left. Maybe the other visitor would know? The rectangular object that hung on his hip let out a small ring, almost like a bell, as if to get his attention. Was the voice coming from there? He set down the axe and grabbed the rectangular object. Instead of the crying eye symbol, there was now an orange dot and a compass on the front. From what he could tell, it was a little further than the temple. A little message popped up at the top of the display.

_'Follow the Sheikah Slate.'_

Despite the direct message being shown to him, something still told Link to head to the temple first before listening to the object- the Sheikah Slate it called itself. He secured it to his belt again and continued on towards the temple. He could see a surprisingly well kept set of stairs leading up to the main entrance. Sure, there was grass growing in between some of the steps, but at least it was still mostly in tact. Off to the sides were more ruined stone buildings, but he didn't worry about those yet. There would be time for exploring later. Right now, he just wanted some answers.

As he walked up, Link noticed metal statues arranged in a sort of chaotic way. There was moss growing on the legs of the statues. The shape they had reminded Link of spiders, only minus four legs. The longer he stared at them, the greater his sense of dread was. He couldn't explain it, but a part of him wanted to drop the axe and run away back to the cave. His chest started to hurt, but he swallowed his unexplained fear and kept on walking up the stairs. He now had more questions, but he ignored them, staying focused on the task at hand. There had to be a reason behind the old man telling him to go visit.

At the very top right by the main entrance stood what was very clearly a monster. It had a pig like face and bright red skin. It's ears were way too big for its head, and it's arms were too long for its body. It held a wooden club in its right hand. Link debated finding another way in, but the monster spotted him before he could commit to the idea. It snarled, running straight for Link, club raised and ready to strike. Link took a second to steady himself and make sure his grip on the axe as firm. The monster swung first, but Link jumped out of the way, his body moving on pure muscle memory. He had done this before, fighting monsters.

Link took a swing at the monster. He managed to cut the monster's arm, but it wasn't strong enough to damage the creature enough to force a retreat. If anything, the wound only made the monster angrier. It yelled and reached out to grab the axe. It got a grip on the handle and pulled, flinging it out of Link's grasp. He watched as his only line of defense fell several feet away. The monster raised its club up high, ready to deliver a blow. Link shut his eyes and lifted his arms up to cover his face. He braced himself for the impact, but it never came. Instead he heard the monster cry out in pain accompanied with the sound of an animal growling and flesh being ripped open.

Link opened his eyes and watched as a wolf mauled the monster to death, its teeth clamped down firmly on its throat. The monster let out one last cry before going still. The wolf released the monster, letting its now lifeless body thud against the ground. Link wanted to run away before the wolf could turn on him, but his feet stayed planted. A dark part of him laughed internally. He wanted to learn more about himself- turns out he's not one to run away even when his life is at stake.

Shockingly enough, the wolf didn't charge him. Instead it rolled the monster's club over to Link. Watching the wolf very carefully, Link bent down to pick up his new weapon. He mentally added 'smart wolf' to his list of questions he had for the other visitor or the old man. It was becoming clear that the wolf saved him from that monster on purpose. Why?

The wolf turned around and began heading towards the entrance. When he noticed that Link wasn't following him, he barked once, nonthreatening, and continued walking. Link followed, keeping a safe distance between himself and the wolf. He was grateful for the save, but he was still dealing with a wild animal. Better safe than sorry.

The temple itself sure was falling apart. Grass was growing where the stone floor used to be, the left side wall was almost completely gone, and there were giant holes in the ceiling. Yet despite all of that, Link felt an sense of tranquility in the air, most likely thanks to the the statue that sat towards the back center. It was a huge stone statue of what appeared to be a deity. Another question for later. The wolf had wandered off to a side room, leaving Link to gawk at the sheer beauty of the temple.

A sharp bark from off to the side got Link's attention. To his right, the wolf was seated next to a rusted chest. The wolf tilted his head towards the chest, keeping his eyes on Link. Link walked over to where the wolf was sitting and stared at the chest. He pointed to his chest for clarification and the wolf lowered his head in what appeared to be an attempt at nodding. Yeah, Link had many questions about this animal's intelligence. He noticed the cuff and chain that were attached to the wolf's front left leg. Where did he escape from?

Link filed those questions away for later and opened the chest. Inside was a simple wooden bow with a quiver containing six arrows. He attached the quiver to his back and then slid the bow over his shoulder. He didn't want to waste arrows testing his aim, and a small part of him claimed that he already knew how to shoot. Guess he'd confirm that when the time came.

Appearing to be satisfied now that Link had the bow, the wolf headed back towards the center of the temple. Link followed, only stopping when the wolf laid down at the foot of the stairs leading to the giant statue. When the old man said 'other visitor,' was he referring to the wolf? Link stared at the animal, waiting to see what it would do next, but it just lied there in the grass. Link sighed and grabbed the Sheikah slate, double checking the position of the dot. He waved at the wolf to get its attention. It eyed him curiously. Link pointed to himself, and then to the exit. He felt dumb informing an animal that he was leaving, but the wolf seemed to understand. It got up, stretched, and then left through the opening on the left side.

Link took the same exit, but the wolf ran in a different direction than the slate was telling him. He debated following the wolf, it clearly knew more about the area than he did, but decided against it. If he wanted to figure out who he was, Link felt like listening to the slate would be his best bet. He took the stairs back down to the path he followed before, keeping an eye out for more monsters. The wolf wasn't there to protect him.

There was a steep hill where the stairs cut off in the direction he was supposed to be headed. At the bottom Link could make out at least three of the red monsters all seated around a campfire. Their guard was down, but with only six arrows, Link didn't trust himself to take them all out. They weren't harming anyone anyway.

(The smell of their food cooking over the fire made raiding their camp very tempting though.)

Crouching low to the ground, Link snuck around, careful not to make any loud noises that would attract the monsters' attention. He kept his eyes on the slate for the most part. He didn't know where the thing was taking him, so he didn't know what to look for. He'd probably know it when he saw it, but the trick was finding it first.

There was a small, rocky hill. From what Link could tell, the dot was at the top. The hill wasn't steep, but his bare feet didn't enjoy the climb up. He was surprised to discovered that he was *not* leaving a blood trail behind him. At the top of the hill stood two red monsters, both armed. Thankfully, their backs were turned. Link looked at the slate again to see how close they were to his desired destination. He groaned internally when he realized that they were too close for comfort, meaning he'd have to fight them. He couldn't even beat the one earlier without help- what chance did he have against two? Unfortunately, as he learned earlier, he wasn't one to run away from situations.

As quietly as he could, Link pulled out his bow, notched an arrow, and aimed for the left one's head. He was surprised at how steady his breathing was. Here he was, about to use a weapon he had no actual memory of knowing how to use, to kill a monster that he had no actual memory of knowing how to kill. And he was calm.

He released his grip on the arrow, letting it fly towards his target. Direct head shot. The monster that was still sliced jumped in shock. Link just stared at the one he killed. He actually hit it. The second monster charged him, club in hand. Link dropped the bow and grabbed his own club instead, knowing that he didn't have time to notch another arrow. Not wasting a second, Link charged ahead, swinging before he even got to the monster. His club smashed into the monster's jaw. Using the momentum from the first swing, Link attacked again, bring the club down on top of the monster's head. It crumbled, dropping its weapon as it collapsed to the ground. Link couldn't tell if it was dead or just unconscious, but he didn't want to take any chances. He grabbed the monster's club and chucked it as far away as he could. The first monster he killed had a bow, so he threw that as well, but took the arrows to add to his quiver.

The dot seemed to be leading him to a huge collection of rocks. There was an opening between the two largest. Link climbed up a few of the rocks, grateful that they were much smoother than the broken cobblestone from earlier. There was a stand similar to the ones in the cave he woke up in between the rocks. Last time, he just had to set the Sheikah Slate on top of the panel. The light on the panel was orange and there was a cut out section, the same size and shape as the slate. Repeating what he knew, Link placed his Sheikah Slate on the stand. The center part of the stand spun around before lowering down, lighting up the rest of the stand orange. A message popped up on the front screen of the Sheikah Slate.

_'Sheikah Tower activated. Please watch for falling rocks.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Let me know what you guys think! As of right now I don't have any of the chapters written ahead, so any feedback before the next chapter would be much appreciated.


	3. This Ain’t The Best View

The falling rocks were the least of Link's concerns. Instead, he was more focused on the fact that _the fucking ground was rising!_ The rocks he was on were currently doing the opposite of falling. The ground shook, knocking Link down. Acting quickly, since the Sheikah Slate did warn about falling rocks, Link took advantage of the fact that he was on the ground and curled up into a ball, covering the top of his head with his hands.

The ground continued to shake as it rose up higher into the air. Link had no idea how much time had passed, but eventually, everything stood still. He opened his eyes slowly and looked up. The slate was still on the center platform, but instead of the device being surrounded by rocks, they were now high up in the air.

Link stood up slowly, terrified that one wrong step would cause the ground to shake again. He leaned over to read what the Sheikah Slate said. Three words flashed on the screen.

‘_Great Plateau Tower_’

At least now he understood what the slate meant earlier when it said _’Sheikah Tower activated_.’ The three words faded away and the slate beeped.

_’Distilling local information...’_

The beam that rested directly above the Sheikah Slate began to glow blue. Letters from a language that felt familiar to Link began to drip down, gathering at the eye mark that was at the end of the beam. It all pooled together, forming what looked like a tear drop. When all of the text had gathered into the blue tear drop, it fell right onto Link’s Sheikah Slate. He took a step back in shock. He wasn’t expecting the tower to cry on the slate. Then again, it shouldn’t have seemed that weird after experiencing the ground rise up.

The screen changed yet again. An image appeared. Instead of a solid blue background, there was now a detailed map of the surrounding area. There was still a lot of blue around it, but now Link could at least figure out where he was on the plateau.

’_Regional map extracted’_

The center of the platform spun and rose up slightly before ejecting the Sheikah Slate. Link grabbed it and attached it to his belt. A map was helpful, but it would remain useless unless he could figure out how to get off of the tower. He turned around, looking for an exit of some sort-

_”Remember...”_

Oh great, the voice was back. Every time he thought it was gone for good, it popped back up again.

_”Try... try to remember...”_

Link ignored what it was saying and focused on the voice itself. It was a girl and it sounded so familiar, but then again, most things he had encountered since waking up felt familiar. She sounded like she was in pain. Whether the pain came from speaking to him or another outside force, he had no idea. He slowly walked over to the edge that was facing the castle. He couldn’t explain it, but he had a strong feeling that the voice was coming from there.

_”You have been asleep for the last 100 years.”_

That caught his attention. Link froze, staring at the castle. The voice was clearer now, more sure. Link had no way of telling if the voice was lying to him or not, but still. Did it really matter at this point? 100 years. Explains why things feel familiar despite him having no memory of anything.

The ground shook again, weaker than last time, but still strong enough to inspire Link to take several steps away from the edge of the tower. His eyes never tore away from the castle. A strange glow appeared around it. He couldn’t make out any details from so far away, but the glow made him feel uneasy.

_”The beast...”_ the voice whispered. _”When the beast regains it’s true power, this world will face its end.”_

Link could’ve sworn he heard growling coming from the castle, despite the fact that it was miles away.

_”Now then, you must hurry, Link! Before it’s too late...”_

The ground stopped shaking as the voice faded away. A strange mix of fear, guilt, and anger welded up inside of him. Link tore his gaze away from the castle and quickly began looking for a way off of the tower. There was an opening with a ladder behind the pedestal. Link wasted no time climbing down to the next platform. There wasn’t another ladder, but there was another small landing just a few feet down from the one he was on. Link jumped down and realized that the way down was just jumping from platform to platform.

The moment his feet hit the ground again, a loud voice called out to him.

“HOH!”

He looked up to find the old man from before gliding towards him on a sail of some sort. The old man grinned, landing right in front of Link.

“My, my,” he chuckled, looking up at the tower. “It would seem we have quite the enigma here! This tower wasn’t the only one to suddenly sprout up! I noticed several others all over do the same. It’s as if the power that controlled them was somehow suddenly awoken.” His eyes shifted back to Link. “If you don’t mind me asking, did anything strange occur while you were on top of the tower?”

Without thinking, Link raised his left hand and cupped it behind his left ear before moving that same hand under his chin, pointing up his index and middle fingers, and pulling his whole hand forward, out from under his chin.

“You heard a voice?” The old man asked. Link blinked in shock. He had just allowed his hands to move while he thought of what he wanted to write. Did he already know the hand speak that the old man mentioned earlier? Link just nodded to answer his question. He’s come back to the hand speak later.

“Did you recognize this voice?” Link shook his head. The old man sighed. “That is unfortunate.”

Link tried to think of the hand speak signs for his next question, but when nothing came to him, he sighed in frustration and pointed to the castle. The old man frowned and allowed his gaze to follow Link’s finger.

“That... is Calamity Ganon,” the old man sighed, his expression pained. Link almost felt bad asking about it, but he needed context on what had happened these last 100 years.

“It was 100 years ago when that vile creature brought the kingdom of Hyrule to ruin,” the old man explained. “When it appeared, it destroyed everything in its path. Many died either fleeing from or fighting it. It’s contained in Hyrule Castle for now, but many fear that the seal won’t last long, despite it holding for 100 years now.”

Link stared at the old man. He felt his blood run cold at the thought of the seal breaking. He found the beast unsettling from miles away, he didn’t want to think about it coming any closer.

And yet a part of him...

“I must ask, do you intend to make your way to the castle?”

...couldn’t help but nod.

“I had a feeling you’d say that,” the old man chuckled. “The real question is how do you plan on getting there? The plateau is completely surround by steep cliffs that offer no way down.”

Link scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion. He jumped up real quick as a demonstration. He had managed to jump off the tower using platforms, what’s to say he couldn’t do the same thing regarding the cliff?

“Jump?” The old man laughed. “I mean, you could! But no death would be more certain or foolish! No, the only safe way down would be using a paraglider.”

Link pinched his fingers together and extended his left hand towards the old man before pulling it back to himself.

“Give you my paraglider? Without even a please?” The old man howled with laughter. Link failed to see what was so funny. He had just woken up after being asleep for 100 years, there was a beast being sealed at the castle a few miles away that could break out at any minute, and he was very limited in ways of communication. He was doing his best and yet here stood this stranger laughing at him.

Link glared and raised his hand to his head, gently pressing his finger tips to his temple before flicking them away.

The old man stopped laughing, thankfully, but kept the wide grin he had. “Please is easy, don’t worry.” He placed his open palm onto his chest and moved it in a circular motion a few times. “See?”

Link repeated the pinched fingers _give_ and added _please_ at the end this time.

“Better, but unfortunately I cannot give my paraglider away for a simple please.”

Link wished he was able to scream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry that this took so long and that it’s shorter than the last chapter. Both work and depression have been kicking my ass, but I’m trying to time/motivation to write. The next chapter should come sooner and be longer. Until then, hope you guys enjoy this!


	4. No Time for Tears

A little bit of nearby treasure. That’s all the old man had requested. A simple in and out job as far as Link was concerned. Sure, the glowy, orange shrine looked intimidating, and yeah, the echoey voice of Oman Au greeting him was unsettling. The magnesis rune that was added to his Sheikah Slate? Cool, but awkward to use. Oh yeah, and the skeleton of Oman Au shoving a spirit orb into Link’s chest after completing the trail? Weirdest thing to happen to him since he woke up for sure. The only thing that kept pushing him onward though was the promise of the old man’s paraglider.

Link walked out of the shrine and was pleased to see the old man waiting outside for him. The shrine’s glow changed from orange to blue, proving that Link completed the trial. 

“I see you’ve collected the spirit orb. Well done!” The old man praised. Link wasn’t sure how exactly he was supposed to give the old man the spirit orb, but he seemed pleased enough with the fact that Link completed the trial.

”_Give please_,” Link requested, using the hand speak. 

The old man laughed and Link’s hope dropped significantly. He did what the old man requested. He got the treasure from the shrine! What more did he want?

“You know, these shrines are located all across Hyrule,” the old man said, looking out across the Great Plateau. “On this plateau there should be three more just like this one. Collect the spirit orbs from there as well and then I shall gift you my paraglider.”

Link glared at him and grabbed a stick near his feet, scribbling his message in the dirt.

_That wasn’t the deal._

“Oh?” The old man said, a hint of teasing in the tone. “Well I suppose I changed my mind! Surely that’s not a problem for a young go-getter like yourself?” Link’s glare hardened. The old man hummed and and turned towards the tower. “Tell you what, since I changed my mind, I’ll help you find the shrines quicker. First, make your way back up to the top of that tower.”

Link stared at the old man, waiting for him to turn around and face him. He never did, but the old man laughed anyway as if he knew that Link was giving him the most obnoxious look of disbelief. 

“I’m afraid I’m not joking. The exercise is good for you!”

Link thought about just whacking the old man with his club and taking the paraglider and making a run for it, but he fought back the urge and instead just stared marching back towards the tower. He got lucky the first time around with the tower, riding it up as it rose from the ground. This time around he’d have to climb.

The tower had this weird sort of mesh pattern around it that was solid and easy to grip. Link grabbed ahold of the side and started climbing, making his way to the first platform. Once his feet were back on solid ground he smiled a little to himself. That wasn’t so bad. 

The rest of the climb was bad. Each platform seemed harder to reach the longer Link climbed. When he finally made it to the top, Link rolled over onto his back gasping for air. Despite pausing at every platform to catch his breath, the climb had completely sapped his energy. 

The sound of a familiar laugh made Link’s heart stop. He turned his head to find the old man standing at the far end of the tower, looking out over the Great Plateau.

“I’m surprised it took you so long to catch up to an old man like me!”

Link scrambled over to him, a bewildered look on his face. He didn’t know the hand speak for all the questions he had, and tower was solid making scratching questions into the ground impossible. The old man glanced at Link and smirked. 

“It’s best to leave an old man to his secrets.”

A wave of anger and frustration washed over Link. He couldn’t speak, had no way of communicating his thoughts at the moment, and the old man was refusing to give him straight forward answers once again. He felt like he was being strung along, only able to react but not respond or choose how to move forward. Just told to go from point A to point B with little to no explanation, and he couldn’t even vocalize his complaints. He wanted to punch something, but the closest thing was the old man, and as much as he hated him right now, Link didn’t want to take his anger on him physically.

If he could speak, he’d defiantly have some choice words for him though.

The old man seemed to notice Link’s patience running thin and frowned, looking somewhat guilty. “I didn’t just bring you up here to chat. I wanted to show you how good of a vantage point these towers are when looking for shrines.” He nodded towards the Sheikah Slate on Link’s hip. “There’s a scope feature on your Sheikah Slate. There’s also a way to pinpoint where you want to go on your map. If you decide to take advantage of those two functions, then you’ll find it much easier to navigate the kingdom, amnesia or not.”

Letting his hands move without thinking, Link put his two fists together, tilted one forward, then pointed at the old man before bringing that same hand up to touch his temple. It felt choppy, but he figured it got the point across. ”_How do you know?_”

The old man chuckled. “I don’t know. Experience? Wisdom? Perhaps instinct? Call it what you want. Go ahead and take a look if you don’t believe me.”

Link eyed the old man carefully before pulling out his Sheikah Slate. Sure enough by the rune he had installed sat a scope function. Link looked through the zoomed in slate and moved his head around. Off to the left sat another shrine surround in an orange glow. Link pulled away from the scope, looked at the map, and tapped the approximate area where he believed the shrine was. A small red marker appeared where he tapped, marking the spot where he needed to go. He repeated the process for the other two shrines on the Great Plateau until he had three new pins on his map.

“If you still want the paraglider, collect the spirit orbs from the other three shrines on this plateau,” the old man reminded him. “And if it gets dark and you need a place to rest, come find my cabin. My door is always open.”

Some of the anger Link felt from earlier died down. The old man clearly meant well. Perhaps there was a real reason for him to send Link to these shrines and collect spirit orbs. Link nodded a quick thank you and started making the journey down the tower for the second time that day.

***

The journey to the second shrine was peaceful. It was strange, Link expected there to be more monsters, but as he drew close to the red marker on his map, he couldn’t help but relax and let his guard down a little. The breeze felt amazing against his skin and the faint sound of birds chirping could almost be mistaken for music. He passed another one of those four legged statues similar to the ones by the old temple, but he paid it no mind. It was just a statue, frozen in place, unable to cause him any harm.

Link weaved around the crumbling stone walls in search for the shrine. He knew it was tucked away somewhere nearby. A faint beeping sound pulled Link out of his relaxed state of mind so quickly he was surprised that he didn’t get whiplash. There was a red glowing dot on the side of his shirt. Link followed the light trail with his eyes all the way back to one of the statues. It was glowing just like the temples, only it had a matching red shade to the dot. There was a blue eye in the center. Link stared into it and froze. This feeling of pure terror rushed over him, pinning Link into place. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t react. He wasn’t exactly sure what this thing was about to do, but he knew that if he didn’t move he would die, and yet despite knowing that, he couldn’t _fucking move_. 

The eye flashed bright white and suddenly Link was shoved behind the nearby stone wall right as a blue beam of energy zoomed right by where he was standing a moment ago. A cold, wet tongue dragged itself across Link’s face rapidly, as if the creature who was doing it was trying to wake Link up. The sudden contact snapped Link out of his frozen state. He inhaled deeply, only just noticing that he hadn’t been breathing since he heard the faint beeping. In an attempt to steady himself, Link tried to focus on who, or what, tackled him.

The wolf from the temple was staring into his eyes intensely, a faint look of panic in its eyes. It looked concerned. How could an animal be concerned for him? How could an animal recognize the fact that Link was having a panic attack and know how to pull him back to reality?

The wolf jumped off of Link’s lap and began tugging on the sleeve of Link’s shirt in an attempt to get him further behind the stone wall, further away from the murderous statue.

Oh right, smarter than average wolf.

Link shifted further behind the wall and curled his knees to his chest. He could feel his hands shaking as he came down from the near panic attack, tears swelling up in the corners of his eyes. The wolf readjusted itself, laying pressed up against Link’s side. Link focused on his breathing, trying to calm himself down. Once he could take a breath without shaking, he lowered his hand to pet the wolf’s back. The animal looked up and him and Link did the hand speak for thank you. It nodded in approval before turning its head back to keep an eye out for any more monsters. 

All Link wanted to do was go find a place to hide and camp out for the night, sleeping away the horrors of the day. The sun was still high in the sky though, and he had work to do. He didn’t want to be stuck on this plateau forever. A part of him longed to find other people. The wolf was nice company, Link didn’t feel guilty being silent around it since it couldn’t talk either, but despite the old man giving him endless amounts of shit, he couldn’t help but miss the presence of another person. If he completed the shrines, then he’d be able to leave the plateau and go find other people. 

Despite the self preservation part of his brain screaming to stay away from the beeping statue, Link got up on shaky legs and took a deep breath in an attempt to steady himself. He was terrified, but he had to keep going. The wolf stood up as well and looked out around the wall. It turned its head to Link and gave a small bark before running across the now singed grass to a safe area behind another, shorter stone wall. Link nodded and shifted the weight on his legs, ready to run. He wasn’t shaking anymore.

He dug his feet into the dirt and pushed off, running as fast as he could before ducking behind the wall. The statue was still beeping, but the red light never got the chance to touch him. He was okay. Link laughed, or at least attempted to. The sound that he made was scratchy and quiet, but the wolf seemed to understand, wagging its tail excitedly. Almost there. He was so close to the pinned part of his map.

The wolf seemed to know where Link was trying to go, because of course he did, and started leading him to the next shrine. It paused at the next corner and looked back at Link. The spot on the map said that the shrine was at the far end of the wall. Just a few more feet and he’d be there, but the wolf was watching him carefully, as if considering what to do next. It barked once and nodded its head, like it wanted Link to go first. Link nodded in understanding and rounded the corner.

The beeping returned, along with the red light making him a target. Link froze once again, his eyes scanning the area for the statue, but he never found it. The wolf nipped at his ankles, trying to get him to move. Link didn’t think, he just allowed his flight response to kick in and he bolted. He could tell the wolf was on his heels, making sure he kept moving. At the end of the wall on the other side, Link could see the shrine’s orange glow. He had to climb the wall if he wanted to make it there. The beeping from the statue got faster, signaling that it would fire at any moment. Link wasted no time jumping up and grabbing the top of the stone wall. The wolf nipped at his feet to make sure he scrambled over. Once Link was safely on the other side, the statue fired. 

For a brief moment, Link was terrified that the wolf got shot. He wished he could call out to it to see if it was okay. Thankfully, the wolf thought ahead and barked once to let Link know that it was okay. Link sighed in relief and allowed himself to plop onto the ground, laying in the grass. He was breathing heavily from sprinting and climbing all the way here. The shrine was so close but he didn’t want to move just yet. All he wanted was to steady his breathing and clear his mind. Given the lack of memories, he thought clearing his mind would be a simpler task, but the events of the last few hours raced in his head. Because he had no memories, everything around him was something new he had to learn about and adjust to. He thought the huge legged statues were just for decoration, but apparently they were weapons and they saw him as an enemy. The beeping was gone, so they didn’t register the wolf as a threat. Link’s best guess was it didn’t apply to animals. Or maybe it was because he was armed? That wasn’t a theory Link wanted to test out. All he wanted to do was sit in the grass and not move until the world made sense again.

But that wouldn’t happen unless he moved. So he pushed himself off the ground yet again and walked over to the shrine. He tapped the Sheikah Slate against the pedestal and waited for the door to open so he could ride the platform down and get the second piece of treasure the old man required. Link was surprised at the fact that he was still going. There was nothing inspiring him to get off the platform, except the promise of more people. He wasn’t fully alone here though. The old man, while a bit inconsiderate at times, seemed to care in his own strange way, and that wolf already seemed to care about him. If Link left the great plateau would he ever see them again? He shook away the thought at prepared himself for the trial ahead.

***

The sun was almost completely down when Link found the cabin the old man mentioned. He had a fire going outside, and at the sound of Link’s approach, he turned to greet him. The old man’s expression was soft as he watched Link make his way over to the fire. Link didn’t bother sitting down, choosing to just stand there and stare at the flame. 

“It’s getting late,” the old man said, watching him, a twinge if guilt in his tone. Link didn’t understand what he had to feel guilty for, but was too exhausted to question it. His first day awake in 100 years and so much had happened. All he wanted to do was go back to sleep and not wake up for another 100 years.

The old man sensed his exhaustion and glanced back at the cabin. “No use standing out here. Go inside, get some rest. I’ll keep watch tonight to make sure none of those beasts from the temple wander over. Feel free to use the bed.” Link moved his hands to argue but the old man raised him to cut Link off. “Trust me, I won’t need it. I’m perfectly comfortable out here by the fire, and I won’t be sleeping anytime soon. Go to sleep. You’ll need your energy for tomorrow.”

Link nodded his thanks and turned towards the cabin. He wasn’t surprised to see the wolf from before curled up outside the door. The old man mentioned earlier in the day about it, so of course it would be here now. That made sense. Or at least it made just enough sense for Link not to question it further, not when he was this tired. Between the tower, fighting monsters, and those two shrines, Link had had enough in terms of new information for the night. Perhaps for the rest of his life.

He opened the door to the cabin and walked over to the bed. He shrugged all of his gear off before face planting into the pillow and pulling the blanket over him. The wolf walked inside and laid on the floor at the foot of the bed. Link wondered for a moment if the wolf did that for the old man, staying the night to watch over the hermit, but he didn’t get to ponder the thought for long before his exhaustion pulled him into a deep sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize again for the wait. I got caught up prepping for a project I’ll be picking up soon(ish). That plus a lot of just typical life stuff. This isn’t one of those stories where I can just sit down and and write whenever I feel like it- I try to follow a no commentary play through as reference for a lot of this fic, so it’s finding time to watch and write at the same time. I have no intentions of dropping this fic, just know that I don’t have a set update schedule, and I don’t know when I’ll get one. I’m sorry, but I hope you enjoy despite all of that.


	5. Mysterious Way About You

Another long day fighting monsters, hunting down shrines, and suffering through the icy cold wind of the mountains had pushed Link near his breaking point. He was grateful for the quilted tunic and boots from the old man, although he was unsure why he had those items in Link’s size. 

The only thing that kept him going was the promise of seeing more of the land of Hyrule. He wanted to find more people. There had to be more people. The demonic beast plaguing the castle was contained for now, meaning it hadn’t destroyed all of Hyrule.

Dragging his feet in exhaustion, Link found himself making his way back to the old man’s cabin. The wolf was gone, it had left before Link woke up earlier that morning. It was almost nightfall now. The old man was chopping fire wood, but paused when he heard Link approach. He smiled and leaned his axe up against the log he used the night before as a bench.

“I assume this means you’ve collected all of the spirit orbs that I requested?” The old man asked. Link nodded. He trusted that this was truly it. The old man was about to give him the big ticket off of this plateau. 

The old man sighed and rubbed his beard. “Link, it’s time I told you everything. Look at your map and imagine a giant X going through it, with all four of the shrines being the end points. Rest for a bit, eat a decent meal, and then meet me at the center of the X.”

The physical exhaustion of the last two days and the mental exhaustion that came from dealing with the old man and his mysterious ways finally came crashing down on Link. He fought back the moisture he felt looking up in the corners of his eyes. He didn’t want to cry and seem weak in front of the old man, but he was so tired of not getting a simple, straight answer from him. 

The old man frowned, looking incredibly guilty for pushing the young man to tears. “I know you’re tired, and I know you’re confused, and I do apologize. All of my vagueness shall be explained soon, even this last test. Rest for a bit. I’m truly sorry for everything. There’s a bag and a small recipe book in my cabin. Consider them yours for all the trouble I’ve caused you.”

With that, the old man left, leaving Link alone once again. Link removed his gear and set it neatly next to the axe. He got the fire started and went inside to look for the bag and recipe book. The book was still flipped open to the recipe with red peppers that Link used earlier that day to take with him in the cold weather. There wasn’t much else in there, but he found a nice looking page for a salted wild game. The old man had some rock salt in a jar and fresh meat from a trap he must’ve set the other day. Link grabbed everything he needed and took a seat by the fire, throwing the meat and salt into the pan. He decided to add a red pepper for taste since he really enjoyed the spicy dish earlier.

When his meal was long gone and the fire was beginning to die down, Link sighed and stood up. It was dark now, the moon full and shining down on the plateau. He grabbed his sword, bow, quiver, and bag with various items before glancing at his map. The test the old man gave him was hardly a challenge, the center clearly lining up with the old temple. Why the old man wanted to meet there, Link had no idea. Perhaps there was another test waiting for him there. He probably wanted Link to clear out the monsters that accumulated there over the day. Link’s muscles aches at the idea of more fighting, but he trudged along, trying not to drag his feet.

It was surprisingly peaceful walking to the temple. Link had expected at least 2 to 3 monsters to attack on his way there, but nothing interrupted his journey. Everything was calm, it was almost eerie, but after the last two days, Link couldn’t find himself to complain about this unusual event. 

He had only been awake for two days. Link slept for 100 years, and after only being awake for 2 days, he found himself driven to tears from how exhausted he was. He was unsure if that said more about the world around him, or himself as a person. 

The quilted tunic was getting warm, but Link was too close to the temple to worry about changing. The old shirt he was wearing before didn’t fit right anyway. He walked up the broken stone stairs to the main entrance and stopped. The statue that he saw the day before was glowing with this beautiful teal light. It felt so familiar and inviting. There was no fear in Link’s mind as he approached the statue. When he reached the base of the statue, Link felt this overwhelming desire to pray. He couldn’t even remember the name of the god, or multiple gods, he was supposed to pray to, but he knew he had to do _something_.

He knelt down and paused. How was he supposed to pray if he couldn’t speak? After a moment of debating on the best approach, Link decided to raise his head and use the hand speak for “Thank you,” before bowing his head again and standing up. It was all he could do in his position, but apparently it had been enough. A sudden wave of energy washes over him. All of the aches and pains from the last two days vanished as the light from the statue faded.

“You’ve received the goddess’ blessing, I see.”

Link spun around and looked up, following the sound of the voice. The old man was peering down at him from the opening in the roof. He wanted to ask how the old man managed to get up there, but he held his question, knowing he wouldn’t get an answer anyway.

“Get up here, boy! Quickly!” The old man called. Link couldn’t tell if it was a trick of the night light, but the old man looked as if he had the same teal glow the statue had, but before he could get a better look, the old man walked away from the opening.

Link ran over to the ladder on the side of the temple and quickly began climbing. He mentally sent another thank you to the goddess for healing him, otherwise he didn’t think he’d be able to make it up that ladder. There was a small tower on top of the roof, so using his climbing skills from earlier, Link scaled the slanted roof, making his way towards the tower where the old man was waiting. He was for sure surrounded by a teal light. Link did a double take though when he saw the super intelligent wolf sitting next to the old man’s feet. Link could sort of wrap his head around the old man making his way up here, but the wolf? There was no way.

The old man laughed as Link pulled himself into the tower. “Well done there, young one. I know I owe you some answers, and again I’d like to apologize for keeping you in the dark. It’s time I showed you who I truly am. You see, I was King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule, the last official leader of Hyrule.”

The light around the old man intensified, blinding Link for a moment. When he could see again, the old man was standing before him in regal royal blue and gold attire. There was a crown atop his head and teal flames flickered beside him.

“The Great Calamity was merciless,” King Rhoam explained, not giving Link a chance to interrupt. “A century ago, it destroyed everything in its path. Even my own life was stolen from me in the attack. Since then, my spirit has remained here.”

The wolf at the king’s feet whined softly at the mention of the king’s death. Link found himself shifting attention back and forth between the animal and the ghost of the late king. King Rhoam smiled sadly at Link and glanced down at the wolf. “My friend here is another story all together. Even I don’t know the full tale.” The king floated over to look out the window. “I did not think it wise to overwhelm you with such knowledge while your mind was still fragile. Forgive me for withholding all of this from you. I ask you now, are you ready to hear what happened 100 years ago?”

The king looked back at Link, waiting for his response. This whole time, all Link wanted were answers, but now that he was being offered them, he found himself scared to know the truth. Despite his fear, Link nodded his head. He had come too far to back down now. The wolf wagged it’s tail a bit, as if it could read Link’s mind and was congratulating him on his bravery. Honestly, if King Rhoam told Link that the wolf could in fact read minds, that still wouldn’t be the craziest thing he heard all day.

“The calamity wasn’t always that vile monster you see surround the castle,” King Rhoam explained. “It use to be a man before the transformation that turned him into the Demon King. His name was Ganon.”

A shiver went down Link’s spine. That name sounded all too familiar. It left a bad taste in his mouth and made his blood run cold. Even the wolf seemed to experience some level of discomfort at the sound of the calamity’s name. The king didn’t pause though and continued on with his explanation.

“There are many stories of Ganon spreading across generations. There was a prophecy though about Calamity Ganon specifically though. _’The signs of a resurrection of Calamity Ganon are clear. And the power to oppose it lies dormant beneath the ground._’ We excavated large areas of land. It wasn’t long before we found ancient relics crafted by our ancient ancestors. We called these relics Devine Beasts. They were giant machines designed to be piloted by warriors. We also found the guardians, mechanical soldiers who fought autonomously.”

Link froze in horror. He instantly put two-and-two together. The guardians were those mechanical statues that nearly killed him the other day. The wolf barked once, snapping Link out of his frozen fear. The king turned back to stare at Link. “Maybe I should wait to tell you the rest.”

Link aggressively shook his head. He knew that if he didn’t get answers now, he’d probably never would. The king frowned, but continued on.

“We also learned of a princess and her appointed knight. The princess would be blessed with a sacred power, and the knight would wield the blade that seals the darkness. 100 years ago, there was a princess with that power, and her trusted knight. We selected four skilled individuals from across Hyrule to pilot the Devine Beasts. With the princess acting as their commander, we dubbed the pilots Champions. The princess, her knight, and the Champions were on the brink of sealing away Ganon, but...”

The king sighed. “Ganon was cunning. We never saw his plan of attack coming. He appeared deep below Hyrule Castle, seized control of the Guardians and Devine Beasts, and turned them against us. The Champions and all within the castle were killed. The knight was gravely wounded defending the princess and collapsed. And that’s how Calamity Ganon managed to destroy the kingdom of Hyrule.”

Link stared at the king. Surely that couldn’t be all to it right? Link looked out the window towards the castle. The calamity was contained, so there must be an explanation as to how. 

The king smiled and stared at the castle too. “Thanks to the bravery and loyalty of her knight, the princess survived. She faced Ganon alone. That princess was my daughter, my dear Zelda. And the knight, who protected her until the very end, was you, Link.”

There was no shock like before. All the other information the king had shared was so surprising since Link had no memory of it, but hearing that he was the knight from 100 years ago... well, the math added up. 

“You fought valiantly until the very end when your fate took an unfortunate turn,” the king praised. You were taken to the Shrine of Resurrection, and now here you stand 100 years later. The voice you’ve been hearing in your head is from princess Zelda. She’s calling out for you to help her in her fight against Ganon, a fight which she has been battling alone for 100 years. She cannot keep it up forever, and when her power is finally exhausted, Ganon will be free to destroy what little still stands of Hyrule.”

King Rhoam bowed his head towards Link. “I could not protect my own kingdom, so I have no right to ask this of you, but I am powerless here, so please, you must save her. Save my daughter, and do whatever it takes to annihilate Calamity Ganon.”

Link nodded his head. It was the best he could do to promise to the late king that he’d save princess Zelda. It was enough for King Rhoam though. He smiled softly. “He still has control over the Devine Beasts and the undamaged Guardians, so I wouldn’t head to Hyrule Castle right away. I suggest following that road down there to Kakariko Village. There you will find the elder, Impa. She will tell you more about the path that lies ahead, and maybe even some answers about our wolf friend here.”

Link smirked and pointed to the wolf before tapping his index and middle finger on top of the same two fingers on the opposite hand.

“His name?” The king asked. “I always called him wolf. He’ll follow you to Kakariko, maybe he’ll tell you his name on the way,” he teased.

The king hummed to himself and pointed to the corner behind him. “As promised, there’s my paraglider. Don’t worry about getting the wolf down with you. He’ll be able to manage himself. And... I think that’s it. I’ve told you all that I can.” The king nodded once to himself before his body began to fade away. “Link, please save Hyrule, and my daughter,” he whispered before completely vanishing.

Unable to think beyond the basics of what he knew to do, Link grabbed the paraglider, took one last look at the wolf, questioned how he’d be able to get down without his help, and then jumped off the tower, allowing his newly required item to carry him down safely. Before, all he wanted that thing for was to meet new people. Now all Link could think about was how fast he was going to be able to accomplished everything he needed to to save princess Zelda.

With the wind blowing in his face during his descent, Link shut his eyes and tried to shut off his brain, not wanting to waste all of the energy the goddess gave him on thoughts that wouldn’t directly help him now. His feet hit the ground a little ways from the temple. He took a minute to figure out how to fold the paraglider so that it would fit in his bag, fighting with the cloth to get it small enough. With everything secure, he began walking to the edge of the Great Plateau, not wanting to waste another moment there.

Once again, Link was pleasantly surprised by how calm the walk was from the temple to the edge. He didn’t spot a single monster on the way. The wolf was nowhere to be seen either, and for a brief moment Link felt guilty for leaving it up in the tower all on its own, but the King Rhoam sounded confident that the wolf would somehow be able to meet up with Link once he was off of the Great Plateau. 

The steep drop and jagged rocks put Link on edge. He had this horrible image of him falling to his death, but he pushed those thoughts aside as he pulled out the paraglider and unfolded it, getting ready for the jump. Making sure all of his gear was secured, and gripping both of the handles as tight as he could, Link took a deep breath to steady himself and jumped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait yet again. I start my 3rd year of college tomorrow, so I was busy getting everything ready for that as well as working on my own novel. I’ve set aside a lot of time coming up though to work on this story though, don’t worry! Also sorry if the pacing seems weird for this chapter. I didn’t plan on skipping the shrines, but I didn’t want to wait another 2 chapters to get Link off of the Great Plateau. Hope y’all are okay with that!


	6. Show Me a Gray Sky

Link’s feet hit the ground with a thud. He took a few steps to steady himself before folding up the paraglider. The field around him was empty, just more grass and stones like before. He had been so excited to leave the Great Plateau, and now that he was free he felt so...

Underwhelmed. 

It was just more nothing. Link wanted company, to meet more people, to have some sort of interaction, but he was still alone. In fact, he was more alone than before. At least he had the old man, King Rhoam, for the last two days. Now he had no one. The cliff behind him was much more menacing looking up. There was no way that wolf was going to be able to follow him down. Link pulled out his Sheikah Slate and looked at the map. The Great Plateau was labeled, but the area where he was now just showed a blue grid with a yellow dot in the distance. Assuming the dot was Kakariko Village, Link shrugged his bag on with the folded up paraglider and began walking towards the dirt road. 

There was an abandoned wagon by the road. The cloth cover was shredded and the wooden frame was falling apart. There was a wheel missing and nothing inside. Link’s first assumption was that there were monsters nearby, but the wagon looked like it had been abandoned for awhile, so he refrained from drawing his sword. He kept his eyes peeled though, just in case.

The walk itself was peaceful. The dirt road was easy enough to follow. As he walked, the clouds above him turned dark. There was a damp smell in the air, warning Link that it was going to rain. A little ways ahead, there looked to be some stone structures, so Link kept on walking, hoping to beat the rain on the way. He didn’t get too close though before a monster stomped out from behind on of the stone walls. Thinking fast, Link darted off to the right and climbed up the hill to hide.

If it had been one of the beasts from the plateau, Link would’ve had no problem slicing it down. The issue was this monster was easily twice, if not three times Link’s size. It dragged a massive club, the tip scrapping across the ground as it walked. Being as quiet as possible, Link drew his bow and notched an arrow, aiming directly for the creature’s head. If he could get it through an eye, he could hopefully down it in one hit. Link made a silent prayer and released.

The arrow hit its mark, the creature’s left eye socket. It howled in pain before collapsing and dissolving into purple smoke. The club it was carrying hit the ground with a thud. Link waited a moment to see if any other monsters came out of hiding before making his way down the hill and back on the path. That wasn’t so bad. He could do this. At this rate he was hoping to be in Kakariko before the rain hit. As he continued on, he noticed a shrine just like the ones from the Great Plateau off to his right just before the bridge. Thunder echoed in the distance, so he marked the location on the grid of his Sheikah Slate for later and moved on. The previous ones all gave him useful runes, so maybe this one would be helpful too. 

Link’s heart soared as he was crossing the bridge. On the other side he saw another person! He smiled, so happy to finally run into someone! He must be getting close to Kakariko! He quickly made his way over to the guy before remembering _he can’t talk._

“Well met, traveler,” the stranger greeted. He had been looking off into the distance before turning to address Link. Link just nodded and looked out to see where the guy had been looking at before. “I’m used to seeing bad omens, but... let’s just say that there is badder than most,” the stranger said, looking back into the distance. “Don’t panic, but we’re doomed.”

Link tried to keep from laughing. Saying ‘we’re doomed’ wasn’t the best way to keep someone from panicking, but hey, at least he was trying.

“Sorry, have we met?” The guy asked. Finally getting over the initial excitement of seeing a new face, Link noticed that he was lugging around a large back pack and holding a spear with an iron tip. He didn’t think the guy would attack him, but then again, Link didn’t know him. He shook his head and mindlessly signed a quick introduction.

_”No, my name is Link.”_

The guy made a face and Link blushed, embarrassed that he couldn’t speak. He made the sign for writing, trying to see if the guy had any paper that he could write on since the bridge they were on was made of stone so he couldn’t write in the dirt. The guy didn’t seem to understand though and just jerked his head in the direction of Kakariko.

“Don’t understand your hand speak. The Sheikah might be able to help you, but ever since the Yiga came around, I don’t trust any of those red eyed freaks. Feel free to knock yourself out though,” the guy grumbled before leaving the way that Link had came. Three things stuck out the most in that little exchange.

One, that guy was an asshole and didn’t like the people in Kakariko.

Two, people in Kakariko might be able to understand him and hold a conversation.

Three, the mention of the Yiga sent a chill down his spine. 

Link made a mental note to ask about the Yiga once arriving in Kakariko. Something tingled in the back of his mind, and he was sure that he knew of the Yiga before falling unconscious for 100 years, but he couldn’t actually remember anything. Just a gut feeling of someone being in danger, and maybe sand? He kept walking though, keeping an eye on the gray clouds above him and picking up the pace. It started misting and Link sighed, annoyed that he would have to walk in the rain. He debated pulling out the paraglider to cover his head, but ultimately decided against it, not wanting to fight the wind with every step.   
  


Mental note number two: look for a cloak in Kakariko. A hood would be helpful for future travel in the rain.

The rain picked up and Link groaned. Today wasn’t his day. Then again, no day had really been his day since he woke up, but this day was leaning heavily on the worst than other days side. Between the underwhelming feeling he got after leaving the Great Plateau, the lack of a travel companion despite King Rhoam saying the wolf would follow him to Kakariko, and the first person he ended up meeting turning out to be an asshole, and now the rain- Link was tired. From what very little he knew about his past and what knowledge he gathered from the last couple days of being awake, he started to get the aching feeling that this was his normal. Constant gray skies, endless challenges, and loneliness. Yet he continued on.

One question Link wanted answered most of all was why he couldn’t speak. His throat didn’t hurt, and he was still able to make noises like grunts or hums, but when he tried to make actual words his voice failed him. Did his 100 year long nap steal his ability to speak, or had he always been like that? Link suspected the later since he seemed to know hand speak, and the King knew to use it to communicate with him. Had Link been born mute? He let his thoughts run wild, thinking up questions to ponder over as a form of entertainment while he walked.

Right as the rain started to pick up, Link spotted a few horses up ahead. On their backs were the same monsters that were back at the temple. Bokoblins? Whatever they were called, they were busy slapping the horses to get them to chase after one another. It almost looked like they were playing a game. For a second, Link considered letting them be and going around them to avoid conflict, but one of the bokoblins spotted him and shouted to the others. One of them raised their bow at Link while the other two swung their clubs in the air before charging.   
  


Thinking fast, Link shrugged off his backpack and notched and arrow. He managed to shoot the archer off of their horse before one of the bokoblins smacked his shoulder with their club. Link cried out in pain, but also sent a quick thank you to the goddesses that it was his right shoulder and not his left. He dropped the bow and drew the sword he picked up from the Great Plateau. The second club wielding bokoblin came right for him but Link managed to slice its leg, causing it to panic and fall off the horse. Thinking fast, Link ran up to the horse and jumped on its back. There was no saddle, and the stead panicked over having an unknown rider on its back and began to try and buck Link off. He hushed the frightened animal and patted its neck while also holding on to its mane for balance. The horse calmed down quickly. Acting purely on instinct, something Link found himself doing a lot, he directed the horse towards the last bokoblin and charged.

The monster squealed as Link ran it through with his sword. The horse it was riding took off the moment the bokoblin fell from its back. Link sighed and felt his right shoulder. It was sore, most likely bruised, but he was glad to see that it wasn’t broken or dislocated. That would’ve sucked. He looked at the horse he was sitting on top of and frowned. It was small and had cream and tan patches on it with a blonde mane. He hopped down, but kept a hand on the horse’s neck to let it know he was still there. Glancing between its legs, he noticed the horse was a mare. She didn’t look like she was going to wander off anytime soon, feeling relaxed around Link. He smiled and quickly spelled out a name for her.

”_Peaches_.”

Peaches made no signs of understanding Link, but he didn’t care. He swore then and there that he’d keep her safe from the bokoblins and other monsters out there. He picked up his backpack and bow before climbing onto Peaches back. Link double checked which way he was going with his Sheikah Slate, trying to cover it from the rain, which thankfully was already letting up. The sky was still gray, and he still had a little ways to go before reaching Kakariko, but things were looking up. Securing the Sheikah Slate, Link squeezed his heels against Peaches’ side and directed her towards the village, happy to finally have some company on his journey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow this took longer than I expected. In my defense, I had 2 German tests and a 20+ page essay due between the last chapter and this one. On the bright side, spring break is coming up which equals more free time for writing!
> 
> For anyone wondering where the name Peaches came from: the first horse I got in Breath of the Wild was one I rescued from Bokoblins and named Peaches before going to Kakariko. There are going to be moments in this pulled from my personal experience playing the game just as a heads up. Everyone last experience is unique and I want to share elements of mine. Hope y’all enjoy!
> 
> And to everyone writing comments: I love all of y’all. Thank you for being patient with me!


End file.
